Two out of 4 prisoners nonetheless at giant had been freed by mistake final 12 months
Two of the four prisoners who are still at large after being mistakenly released last year were freed in error in June this year, the Ministry of Justice has said
Two inmates are still on the loose after being erroneously released last year, it has been revealed. Another pair, believed to have been mistakenly set free in June this year, also remain at large.
This comes as ministers grapple with increasing pressure over a string of high-profile manhunts, with Justice Secretary David Lammy conceding on Friday that there is a “mountain to climb” to address the crisis in the prison system.
Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was apprehended on Friday following a police search after his release from HMP Wandsworth last week, which Scotland Yard stated they were only notified of on Tuesday.
Another inmate, Billy Smith, 35, who was also inadvertently released from the same prison on Monday, voluntarily returned on Thursday.
These gaffes have ramped up the pressure on Mr Lammy following the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu, whose arrest for sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl and a woman while residing in an asylum hotel sparked protests in Epping, Essex.
Enhanced security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was initiated into erroneous releases after the now-deported Ethiopian national was accidentally let out from HMP Chelmsford on October 24.
According to the latest Government figures, some 262 prisoners were mistakenly released in the year to March 2025 – a 128% surge on the 115 in the preceding 12 months.
Of the total, 90 erroneous releases involved violent or sex offenders.
Kaddour-Cherif was serving time for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously been found guilty of indecent exposure.
He is believed to have exceeded his visitor’s visa to the UK after arriving in 2019, and was undergoing deportation proceedings.
Reacting to Friday’s news of the four escaped prisoners, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accused the Government of “relentlessly failing victims”.
He declared: “The chaos continues. The Government keeps putting the British people at risk and is relentlessly failing victims. Does anyone have confidence in David Lammy?”.
Mr Lammy stated on Friday: “We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.
“I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb which cannot be done overnight.
“That is why I have ordered new tough release checks, commissioned an independent investigation into systemic failures and begun overhauling archaic paper-based systems still used in some prisons.”
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